Among the hills of the Colli Euganei stands Villa Byron, a former convent of the Capuchin friars now included in the Francesco Petrarca Literary Park. The place is connected to the great protagonists of Romanticism: George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Claire Clermont, who found a creative refuge here between 1817 and 1818, inspired by the Euganean landscape.
Here, Shelley composed some of his most renowned works, including Julian and Maddalo, the first act of Prometheus Unbound, and Verses Written among the Euganean Hills, a testament to the strong bond between literature and territory, in ideal continuity with the poetry of Francesco Petrarca.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the ancient convent was transformed by the Swiss Kunkler family into a noble residence. The complex took on a U-shape with an inner courtyard and was enriched by architectural elements of Romantic and Mitteleuropean taste, including the picturesque wooden stable built by master Valentino Panciera “Basarel”.
Today, the park that surrounds the villa maintains a natural landscape of great charm, rich in biodiversity and contemplative atmospheres. It is a space where nature and literature merge, offering an immersive experience in the heart of the Colli Euganei, between historical memory and poetic inspiration.
